Dot counters



March 3, 1959 .G, M. MAST E' FAL 2,875,950.

' DOT COUNTERS Filed Sept. 16, 1952 NVENTORS GlFFORD MAST WRIGHT K. GANN TT a BY WESLEY A. TAYL a ATTORNEY nite-c DOT COUNTERS Application September 16, 1952, Serial No. 309,796 9 Claims. (Cl. 235-64) The present invention relates to a counter mechanism and particularly to a photo-interpreters dot counter. The purpose of this invention is to record accurately a number of identifiable points observed on a surface.

This dot counter resembles a mechanical pencil in form. It is held in the fingers, like a pencil, and is operated by setting the stylus against some point of a flat surface and pushing downwardly approximately five thirtyseconds of an inch. This actuates the mechanism in the tube, or shell, as evidenced by a slight click and simultaneous appearance of the next higher number in the windows in the side of the shell. With the exception of the raised transparent plastic cover over the window section and the detent housed by it, the mechanism is entirely enclosed within the shell.

In the drawings annexed hereto and forming a part hereof,

Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal section of this counter;

Fig. 2 represents a transverse section thereof, substantially along the plane indicated by the line 2-2, in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 represents a similar section along the plane indicated by the line 33, in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 represents a similar section dicated by the line 4-4, in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 shows an elevation of a part of the operating mechanism taken in the direction of the arrows 5-5, in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 shows an elevation of a part of the operating mechanism taken in the direction of the arrows 6-6, in Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 represents a fragmentary plan view of the tube or shell substantially along the plane indicated by the line 7-7, in Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 shows an end elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 5, taken substantially in the direction of the arrows 88, in Fig. 5; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary section as seen along the line 99 of Fig. 2.

Reference will now be made in greater detail to the annexed drawings for a more complete description of this invention. The counter of this invention resembles a mechanical pencil and comprises a hardened steel stylus or actuator 1, a support including a body 2 and a shell 3, and operating mechanism 4. In the broad sense, the support includes the body and shell as well as other mounting components for the counting and operating mechanism. By pushing lengthwise of the implement, the stylus 1 is pushed back toward the mechanism on a counting stroke of about five thirty-seconds of an inch, and this causes indexing to take place. In this description, the expression right means the readers right when viewing Fig. 1, and back or rearward are used synonymously with right to describe the movement of the stylus into the support, which is its counting stroke. Conversely, its return stroke is outwardly, forwardly or to the left, also as seen in Fig. 1.

Inside of the tube or shell 3 is a fixed guide 5 which along the plane in- 2,875,950 Patented Mar. 3, 1959 is pierced longitudinally for the reception of the stylus 1 which slides longitudinally and turns. The forward end of the pencil-like body 2 is tapered and serves as an additional bearing for the stylus. The guide 5 is hollowed out in one end, as shown at 6, for the reception of a spring 7 which bears on pin 8 and tends to force the stylus out or its return stroke after it has been actuated. The pin 8 operates in a dog-leg slot 10 in a reduced end 11 of the guide or fixed abutment 5, as shown in Fig. 5 and afiords means for mounting and guiding the stylus. When the stylus 1 is actuated, the pin 8 travels, at first, straight in, in the slot 10, and then moves into the angularly extending part of the slot 10. Since the guide 5 is fixed by a screw 12, it cannot rotate, but the stylus is caused to rotate by reason of the actuator 8 riding in the camming slot 141. A bracket 13 or carrier is mounted loosely on the stylus 1 and a stop or snap ring 5a forms drive means including a one-way connection between the two whereby the bracket is driven rearwardly or to the right when the stylus is pressed in. A second drive means having a one-way connection is afforded by a pin 51, diametrically through the stylus, which engages a stop portion 13a on the bracket to cause the bracket to turn in only one direction with the stylus (counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 2). A conical coil spring 53 acts in both compression and torsion in opposition to these one-way connections. This force in compression results because the spring pushes rearwardly on the pin 51 and forwardly on the bracket 13, thus yieldably holding the bracket against the snap ring 5a. In torsion, one leg of the spring acts counterclockwise (as seen in Fig. 2) on the pin and clockwise (same figure) on the bracket 13, thus yieldably holding the pin 51a against the stop portion 13a. Rotation of the stylus causes the bracket 13 to rotate slightly more than thirty-six degrees (36), one-tenth of a complete rotation, in order to compensate for any backlash of the elements. The bracket 13 carries the pin 9 or drive element, and this goes rearward or to the right with the bracket 13 and enters one of the slots or notch means 20. Rotation of bracket 13, as pin 8 follows the latter part of slot 10, causes one or more of the counter elements 17, 19, and 21, as shown in Fig. 6, to be rotated from one position to the next position. Balls 16 engage slots 20 as detents and hold the counter elements 17, 19, and 21 against turning by reason of the ball 16 dropping into the slot 20. It is obvious from Fig. 3 that the balls 16 and slots 20 are of such size, relatively, that the balls 16 can enter the slots 20 only slightly and detent the counter elements unless they are positively turned. This action will cause one digit to be added to the indication on the counter element, next to the stylus.

Units are shown on the counter element visible through the Window 22; tens through the window 23; and hundreds through the window 24. The counter will count from zero to 999, and then start over again. When the first counter element has been carried around until the digit 9 shows through the window 22, the pin 9 will be in a position to engage the pin 18 on the next actuation. Forward movement of pin 18 causes it to engage slot 219 of the second counter element 19, causing linking together of the two counter elements 17 and 19, as it turns, and 19 will be moved along to the next position, exposing the next higher digit. When the counter elements 1'7 and 19 read 99, actuation of stylus 1 will result in pin 9 going into slot 20 and actuation of pins 18 to connect the counter elements 17 and 19 with the counter 21, so that further actuation of the stylus 1 will turn all three counter elements, actuation of the counter elements taking place as described above. Thus, any number ending in 9 will result in a shift over to the next higher number, whether it be a 10 or a or a multiple of 10 or 100.

Counter elements 17, 19, and 21 are cut away, as shown at 25, to make it possible to install springs 26a which .visible through the windows 22, 23, and 24, of Fig. 7.

The transparent member 31) is hollowed out on the under side, as shown at 27 in Fig. 3, and has fiat springs 26 mounted in the hollows 27. These tend to push the balls into the slots 29 and cause detenting of the counter elements 17, 19, and 21.

The end 28 of the fixed guide furnishes a bearing to hold the rotatable and reciprocable shaft 29 in place. The opposite end of the shaft is held centered by the shank 31 of knob 32, by means of which the shaft is rotated. The counter elements 17, 19, and 21 are held in alignment by the shaft 29 and by the fact that each of these counter elements has a part projecting into the inside of the counter element next to it.

The knob 32 may be reciprocated by being pulled or pushed, depending upon its position, snap ring 43 limiting the outward movement of shaft 29 to the position shown in Fig. 1. A spring 33 pushes the ball 34 into groove 35 in the shank 31 of the knob 32 and holds it in longitudinally adjusted position. The grooves in the knob are circular and extend all the way around the shank of the knob, so that the shaft 29 may be rotated in either direction and, when such is done, it may rotate the counter elements to the right or to the left, depending upon the longitudinal position of the shaft 29. When the shaft is moved to its extreme position to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, it may be turned without turning any of the counter elements. When, however, the shaft is moved one groove to the left, it may be turned either way and it may rotate the counter element 17 by means of pin 36 engaging fin 39 which is part of counter element 17. When the shaft 29 is pushed in two notches, it may rotate counter element 19, as well as counter element 17, when the shaft is rotated. When the knob 32 is pushed in three notches, not only may counter elements 17 and 19 be rotated, but also counter element 21. In other words, all three counter elements may be rotated with the knob 32 when the shaft 29 has been pushed clear in. On the other hand, when the shaft 29 has been pulled clear out, none of the counter elements will be turned when the knob 32 is rotated. This is accomplished by pins 36, 37, and 38 extending through the shaft 29 in appropriate positions to engage fins 39, 4t), and 41 on the inside of the counter elements 17, 19, and 21, respectively, causing the counter elements to rotate. These fins or ribs are the same length, longitudinally of the counter elements, but may be successively engaged by the pins 36, 37, and 38 when the shaft 29 is pushed in. By appropriately spacing the pins 36, 37, and 38 along shaft 29, the desired order of operation of the counter elements 17, 19, and 21 may be secured. When all rotate together, the digits appearing through the windows 22, 23, and 24 will all be the same when all the counter elements are totaling. This is brought about by engagement, successively, by the pins 36, 37, and 38 with fins or ribs 39, 40, and 41. The knob 32 is secured to the shaft 29 by a pin 42 which extends transversely through the two, as shown in Fig. 1. In the left hand groove, as shown in Fig. 1, is an approximately cylindrical depression into which the detent ball 34 can drop, as shown in Fig. l. The left hand groove, as will be noted from Fig. 1, has straight sides and, with the ball in the cylindrical depression, it engages the side of the depression so that the knob 32 cannot he accidentally pushed in. A slight rotation of knob 32 lifts the ball to the height determined by the bottom of the depression and, in this position, it merely detents instead of locking the knob.

Windows in transparent members 30, tube 3, and fixed guide 5 are secured together at the center of this mechanism by machine screws 12, at the left end of the mechanism, the transparent window 30, the tube 3, and part of the housing closure 6 are secured together by machine screw 44. The snap ring 512 cooperates with the adjacent shoulder of the guide 5 in stopping the outward motion of the stylus 1, bracket 13, and pin 9.

When the fixed guide 5 is cut out, as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 4, it leaves a bridge 46, and this has a shallow groove in which a band 48 is received. Because of the projection 52 on the band 48 in the hole 50 in the bridge 46, there is no chance for the band 48 to shift. This band has a lug 49 formed on the inside thereof which cooperates with the pin 15 to prevent a partial stroke which would leave the counter elements in an undetented position. At the beginning of a counting stroke, the stylus 1 moves straight in, and then the pin 8 strikes the inclined wall of the dog-leg slot 10, with the result that the stylus turns and, by means of pin 51, turns the bracket 13 and internal pin 9 and, also, the counter element 17. During the straight in motion of the stylus, pin 15, integral with bracket 13, passes below and to the rear or right of lug 49 (dotted lines, Fig. 9) as the counter element 17 is engaged by the pin 9. Then rotation takes place and pin 15 turns counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 2 in an arcuate path behind lug 49. When the pressure on the stylus is released, the bracket 13 goes back longitudinally with the stylus, pin 15 passing forwardly or to the left at the other side of lug 49, since bracket 13 is kept from turning with the stylus by the counter element 17 which is held in actuated position by the ball 16 engaging in slot 20. When bracket 13 has returned longitudinally forwardly or to the left by a sufiicient distance to disengage pin 9 from slot 20, at which time pin 15 will be ahead of lug 49, bracket 13 goes back angularly under the impulse of spring 53 to zero position in which it engages pin 51, to be ready for another actuation.

In the event of a partial stroke which does not carry the counter element to a detent position, pin 15 falls short of its required angular travel and thus cannot clear lug 49 to allow pin 9 to withdraw from slot 20. Thus, while the stylus 1 can return to its normal position, bracket 13 remains rearward by engagement of pin 15 and lug 49 and in a position that retains engagement of pin 9 and slot 20 until the next complete stroke carries pin 15 angularly past lug 49 so that it can return on the far side thereof. Should such protection not be provided, and the rotation of counter element 17 should be left incompleted by a partial stroke, slot 20 would not be in alignment with pin 9 for the next stroke and, consequently, the pin 9 would engage a wall of the counter element 17 between the slots 20.

Operation When this mechanism is to be used in counting, it is held similarly as a pencil is held and then the stylus is pushed against an aerial photograph, a blueprint, or any other representations showing objects to be counted, the counter elements having been set at a definite number or at zero. Let it be assumed that the mechanism is set at zero. Then, as the stylus is pressed against each object, it is pushed back into the tube or shell 3, and the bracket 13 moves back and carries with it the pin 9. When the pin 9 goes into the slots 20, the counter element 17 is caused to turn, and it registers 1 on each actuation of the stylus, and each registration, in turn, shows through the window 22 until 9 has been registered. Then the next actuation of the stylus will register 1 through the window 23 on the counter element 19, while 0 will be registered on the counter element 17. This continues until 99 is registered. The next actuation of the stylus will register 100 on the counter element 21. Operation can then be continued until the mechanism registers 999.

If it is desired to set the mechanism at zero (0), the knob 32 is pushed in until all of the counter elements turn in either direction when the knob is turned,

then the knob is turned until 000 appears through all of the windows.

If it is desired to set the mechanism at any definite number, the shaft 29, by knob 32, is pushed all the way in and then turned until the proper hundred is registered. Then the knob is pulled out one notch and turned until the proper ten is shown through the window 23, and then the knob is pulled out another notch until just one counter element will be turned and the proper units will be registered.

While the term stylus has been used in this specification to indicate the element 1, it will be understood that it is used in a broad sense to indicate any suitable pointer element, such as a pencil or a pen.

It is of course understood that the specific description of structure set forth above may be departed from without departing from the spirit of this invention as disclosed in this specification and as defined in the appended claims.

Having now described our invention, we claim:

1. A counter of the class described, comprising: an elongated fore-and-aft support adapted to be held in the hand of the user and including wheel-mounting means; front and rear adjacent and independent counter wheels coaxially journaled on the wheel-mounting means on a fore-and-aft axis to turn in a counting direction, said front wheel having therein a plurality of uniformly angularly spaced notches, all of said notches opening forwardly and one of said notches also opening rearwardly; a drive element carried in said one notch in normally disengaged relation to the rear wheel and shiftable rearwardly into engagement with said rear wheel for coupling the two wheels for rotation together; actuator means disposed coaxially with and ahead of the wheels and projecting forwardly from the suport and adapted to be placed against an object as the support is alternately pressed forwardly toward such object and then released relative to said actuator means; and means mounting the actuator means on the support for both axial and angular movement to move rearwardly and angularly on successive counting strokes as the support is pressed forwardly relative to said object-engaged actuator means and to move forwardly and reversely angularly on return strokes as pressure on the support is released, said actuator means having a drive portion thereon ahead of the front wheel and rearwardly receivable successively by consecutive notches of said front wheel to turn said front wheel in successive counting increments until said one notch and the drive element are aligned fore-andaft with the drive portion so that upon the next counting stroke of the actuator means the drive portion is effective to shift the drive element rearwardly into engagement with the rear wheel for coupling the two wheels to turn simultaneously in a counting increment.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, in which: each notch in said front wheel opens radially at the periphery of said wheel; and means on the support carries a detent successively engageable with the radially outer portions of said notches.

3. The invention defined in claim 2, in which: the means on the support includes a part closely overlying the peripheral portion of the front wheel and said part has an aperture therein successively registrable with said notches, and the detent includes a ball carried in the aperture for partial receipt by each successive notch, and spring means urging the ball radially inwardly to notchengaging position.

4. The invention defined in claim 1, in which: the drive element is a pin parallel to the axis of the wheels and biased out of engagement with the rear wheel.

5. The invention defined in claim 1, in which: the wheel-mounting means comprises a single shaft loosely journaling the counter wheels, said front counter wheel having an axial recess and the rear counter wheel has a hub coaxially received by the front wheel axial recess and further has an aperture alinable fore-and-aft with and for receiving the shifted drive element.

6. A counter, comprising: a fore-and-aft support having wheel-mounting means; a counter wheel journaled on the wheel-mounting means for turning through 360 in a counting direction through uniform angular counting increments and having therein a concentric circular series of forwardly opening notches equal in number and spaced angularly according to said increments; an actuator having a forward position in coaxially forwardly spaced relation to the wheel; means on the support mounting the actuator for fore-and-aft movement relative to the support and including a cam operative to cause the actuator to move rearwardly only and then both rearwardly as well as angularly in the amount substantially equal to a counting increment; means biasing the actuator to return to its forward position on a return stroke whereby reversals of said movements occur; a carrier coaxially interposed between the actuator and the wheel and having eccentrically thereon a drive element projecting rearwardly toward but initially disengaged from said series of notches in the wheel; means mounting the carrier for both axial and angular movement; drive means between the carrier and actuator for moving the carrier rearwardly and angularly in phase with the actuator on the counting stroke of the latter so as to cause rearward insertion of the drive element into a notch of said series and then to turn the wheel through a counting increment, said drive means including a first one-way rearwardly effective drive connection and a sec-- ond one-way angularly effective drive connection for positively moving the carrier rearwardly and angularly by the actuator in the counting direction but enabling independent movement of the actuator on its return stroke without angularly reversing the carrier While the drive element is engaged with a notch, and said drive means including means biasing the carrier first forwardly to withdraw said drive element from a notch and then angularly reversely and back into angular phase with the actuator.

7. The invention defined in claim 6, including: means on the support and operative to intercept forward movement of the carrier when the carrier turns in the counting direction in an amount less than a counting increment.

8. A counter, comprising: a

fore-and-aft support hav ing wheel-mounting means; a counter wheel journaled on the wheel-mounting means for turning in a counting direction through uniform angular counting increments; an actuator having a forward position coaxially spaced ahead of the wheel; means mounting the actuator on the support for movement fore-and-aft relative to the support and including a guide causing the actuator to move on a counting stroke first rearwardly and then both rearwardly as well as angularly in an amount substantially equal to a counting increment; means biasing the actuator to return to its forward position on a return stroke incurring reversal of said movements; a carrier coaxially interposed between the actuator and the wheel and having eccentrically thereon a drive element projecting rearwardly toward but initially disengaged from the wheel; means mounting the carrier for both axial and angular movement; drive means between the carrier and actuator for moving the carrier axially and angularly in phase with the actuator on the counting stroke of the latter so as to cause engagement of the drive element with the wheel and then to turn the wheel through a counting increment, said drive means including a first one-way rearwardly effective drive connection and a second one-way angularly effective drive connection for positively moving the carrier rearwardly and angularly by the actuator in the counting direction but enabling movement of the actuator on its return stroke without reversing the carrier while the drive element is engaged with the wheel, and said drive means including means biasing the carrier first forwardly to disengage the drive element and then angularly reversely and back intoangular phase with the actuator.

9. The invention defined in claim 8, including: means on the support and operative to intercept forward movement of the carrier when the carrier turns in the counting direction in an amount less than a counting increment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 380,718 Grisson Apr. 10, 1888 385,265 Hopkins June 26, 1888 488,206 Judd Dec. 20, 1892 555,218 Matsson Feb. 25, 1896 Popular Mechanics,

8 Dement Apr. 16, 1901 Gilbert June 13, 1905 Goodin Oct. 31, 1911 Trinks Apr. 2, 1912 Sternrnler et a1. May 6, 1913 Lillard Aug. 5, 1913 Wernecke Dec. 27, 1927 Du Lude Sept. 12, 1944 OTHER REFERENCES published at 200 E. Ontario Street, Chicago, 111., by Popular Mechanics Co." Page 270 of August 1952. 

